Top 5 future projects and events

It is no secret that people have been trying to develop an alternative energy source, one that is produced without the undesirable consequences of burning fossil fuels, such as high carbon dioxide emissions.

Nuclear energy has been determined as the most efficient solution, specifically nuclear fusion energy development.

In the solar system, fusion reactions power the stars and produce virtually all elements. However, if a nuclear fusion reaction is produced under a sustained uncontrolled chain, then it can result in a thermonuclear explosion, such as that generated by a hydrogen bomb.

For decades, scientists have conducted experiments with controlled nuclear fusion, in the hopes of producing fusion power for the production of electricity. This is a complex process and a substantial energy barrier must be overcome for fusion power to work.

Look what's coming

ITER is an engineering project designed to develop nuclear fusion as an energy source. The goal is to produce a commercially successful nuclear fusion reactor.

Site preparation for the ITER reactor is underway in Cadarache, France and was originally scheduled to be completed in 2016, but this date has since been moved back.

ITER's mission is to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion power and the reactor will not be used to generate any electricity. Original experiments have proven that fusion energy is possible and these results have spawned the creation of DEMO.

DEMO is a proposed fully-operational nuclear fusion power plant. It is on a much larger scale then ITER and is going to be the first fusion reactor to generate electricity.

If all goes to plan, fusion energy could be available in 25 years. It is exciting because fusion energy does not have the atmospheric pollution problems associated with fossil fuels or fission energy.

It doesn't produce transuranic wastes. However, it does have some displaced radioactive waste.

The conceptual design for the DEMO fusion power plant is scheduled to be completed by 2017. The engineering design will be done by 2024, with the first phase of operation lasting from 2033 to 2038.